As the nation caught lottery fever last week for the Mega Millions game, an unnamed St. Mary’s County man won a $1.9 million jackpot in the Maryland Multi-Match game last Thursday.

Lottery winners in Maryland can remain anonymous, and the 41-year-old Mechanicsville man chose to stay that way, according to the Maryland Lottery.

He chose to take the cash option of $1.35 million rather than the larger annuity amount.

He bought the winning ticket at Boatman’s Mini Mart in Oakville on Wednesday, March 28, the day before the numbers were drawn.

“The lucky winner, who plays the Lottery occasionally, went back to the store where he purchased the ticket and checked the ticket scanner to see if he had a winner. He had several tickets to check, but the fourth and final ticket, revealed the message, ‘Claim at Lottery Headquarters,’” a Maryland Lottery statement said.

“Upon viewing the message, the excited winner’s hands started to shake and he decided to head home to look up the winning numbers on his computer. He tried repeatedly to call his wife, who didn’t answer. Finally, she called him. ‘I was in shock,’ his wife said. The couple went to the bank and purchased a safety deposit box to store the winning ticket,” the statement said.

“The happy couple will pay bills, pay off their home and save for their children’s college fund and a short Hawaiian vacation,” the agency said.

Terry Boatman, owner of the store, said she didn’t know who bought the winning ticket.

While the Mega Millions jackpot soared up to $656 million for the March 30 drawing, the news hit locally that Boatman’s Mini Mart sold a different winning ticket. “When everyone was coming in, we were kidding around with everyone, saying, ‘Was it you? Was it you?’” Boatman said Thursday.

The store gets a 1 percent share for selling the winning ticket — $1,900, she said.

“I do need a new roof, but I’m going to share some of that with my employees,” she said, and make a few other smaller repairs. The leaky roof will have to wait.

“I’m really happy for whoever won, because I have the same regular customers come through here,” she said. Boatman has owned the store for about eight years.